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Lee J. Cobb

Lee J. Cobb

Actor · 1911 – 1976 · New York City, New York, USA

Lee J. Cobb (December 8, 1911 — February 11, 1976) was an American actor. He was best known for his performances in On the Waterfront (1954), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, 12 Angry Men (1957), and The Exorcist (1973). He also played the role of Willy Loman in the original Broadway production of Arthur Miller's 1949 play Death of a Salesman under the direction of Elia Kazan. On television, Cobb costarred in the first four seasons of the popular, long-running western series The Virginian. He typically played arrogant, intimidating, and abrasive characters, but often had roles as respectable figures such as judges. Born Leo Jacob in New York City, he grew up in The Bronx,  before studying at New York University and making his film debut in The Vanishing Shadow (1934).  Cobb performed in numerous theater productions and companies, including Group Theatre (New York) before serving in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force during World War II.   Following the war, Cobb returned to film, television and theater before being accused of being a Communist in 1951 testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee by Larry Parks, himself a former Communist Party member. Cobb was called to testify before HUAC but refused to do so for two years until, with his career threatened by the blacklist, he relented in 1953 and gave testimony in which he named 20 people as former members of the Communist Party USA. Following the hearing he resumed his career and worked with Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg, two other HUAC "friendly witnesses", on the 1954 film On the Waterfront, which is widely seen as an allegory and apologia for testifying.  His 1968 performance as King Lear achieved the longest run (72 performances) for the play in Broadway history.  One of his final film roles was that of police detective Lt. Kinderman in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist. Cobb died of a heart attack in February 1976 in Woodland Hills, California, and was buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. He was survived by his second wife, Mary Hirsch, and daughter, also an accomplished actress, Julie Cobb.

Movies24

  • Movie8.6

    12 Angry Men

    1957 · 10K votes

  • Movie7.7

    The Exorcist

    1973 · 8.9K votes

  • Movie7.8

    On the Waterfront

    1954 · 1.8K votes

  • Movie6.3

    Coogan's Bluff

    1968 · 385 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Mackenna's Gold

    1969 · 219 votes

  • Movie7.0

    How the West Was Won

    1962 · 514 votes

  • Movie6.0
  • Movie6.6

    Man of the West

    1958 · 244 votes

  • Movie5.9
  • Movie6.7

    Exodus

    1960 · 239 votes

  • Movie6.5

    Lawman

    1971 · 141 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Miami Exposé

    1956 · 7 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Sirocco

    1951 · 50 votes

  • Movie6.3

    The Left Hand of God

    1955 · 44 votes

  • Movie6.5

    The Brothers Karamazov

    1958 · 52 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Green Mansions

    1959 · 33 votes

  • Movie7.2

    The Three Faces of Eve

    1957 · 155 votes

  • Movie5.9

    Las Vegas: 500 millones

    They Came to Rob Las Vegas

    1968 · 23 votes

  • Movie7.1

    The Song of Bernadette

    1943 · 134 votes

  • Movie6.7
  • Movie6.2

    In Like Flint

    1967 · 89 votes

  • Movie6.9

    The Trap

    1959 · 18 votes

  • Movie7.3

    Thieves' Highway

    1949 · 118 votes

  • Movie5.7

    The Bull of the West

    1972 · 9 votes

Series19

  • TV
  • TV5.9
  • TV6.5

    The Virginian

    1962 · 35 votes

  • TV5.4

    Studio One

    1948 · 13 votes

  • TV5.7

    Naked City

    1958 · 13 votes

  • TV6.2
  • TV7.0

    The Oscars

    1953 · 84 votes

  • TV6.7

    Gunsmoke

    1955 · 119 votes

  • TV7.8
  • TV6.8
  • TV7.2

    McCloud

    1970 · 53 votes

  • TV6.0

    Lights Out

    1949 · 5 votes

  • TV6.3
  • TV6.4

    Tales of Tomorrow

    1951 · 7 votes

  • TV6.7

    Lux Video Theatre

    1950 · 7 votes

  • TV8.0

    Alle origini della mafia

    Origins of the Mafia

    1976 · 1 votes

  • TV6.3

    Medic

    1954 · 7 votes

  • TV6.8
  • TV7.0

    The Young Lawyers

    1970 · 2 votes